I'm taking a lovely slow afternoon, I probably should be doing some sewing but decided to put my feet up and watch some quilting videos.

I finished quilting Polka Dots and started the binding.

I chose a print to offset the solids of the quilt itself. I have to use a lot of solids because that's the scraps I have so I like to mix in prints whenever I can and the next quilt I start will be all prints!

All the blocks of the leftover half-square triangles are done. 38 of the big ones, 34 of the medium sized ones and 4 of the teensy weensy ones. It will be more than one quilt probably more than 2. They are going to wait until I get the Pinwheels done. I'm in no hurry. Of course, they are all solids too. But I am not complaining I wouldn't be able to make these quilts if I didn't have the scraps.

I have one more quilt basted to be quilted and then I have to make backs for another half dozen and baste those. Somewhere in there they will be insulating the house which will be a mess and I will need to work solely in the basement so there won't be much quilting.

David and Leon had a plumbing problem this morning, they work very well together if there is someone to translate Leon-speak into left-handed Swedish-Norwegian and vice versa.

Tomorrow there won't be much sewing, but Monday I should be able to finish binding Polka Dots and get a good picture. Timothy and Rosa will be here pretty soon for dinner it will be nice to see them. For now, though, I have a cup of coffee to drink.

I spent the morning sorting through my stuff in the attic and brought my trunk down to sit at the end of the bed to put the tv on. I put stuff  in it that I won't be using very often so we won't have to move the tv although it's not heavy it is inconvenient.

Now I can see my pinning wall!!

This is where I sit to do my handwork, I won't show you my side of the bed; my night stand is more like a work bench with handsewing piled high. It's getting worked on. Right now I am watching a quilting shown on You Tube.

So not much sewing happened today, carrying all that stuff down three flights of stairs really tired me out. Tomorrow I will make up for it.

I found only 3 more quilt tops up there, that makes 8 finished tops that need to be quilted. I am on the 11th this year, that is a lot of UFOs, but I will get there. That doesn't include the ones that are cut out but not sewn, and those that are cut out a partially sewn. Those will be finished when the quilting is caught up. I look forward to it. I'm excited about it. I feel like starting another quilt to celebrate it! No I don't think so. I think it's time for some hand sewing, I'll just keep plugging away at that, no more starting and not finishing for me!

It was Butterfly House and Aquariam for us this morning.

This moth is as big as it looks, bigger than my hand, bigger than David's hand. It was lovely to sit in the heat and watch all the gorgeous creatures flying and living their lives.

These are Plumeria, the picture doesn't really show how beautiful they are, an amazing tree, bare up to the end of the branch and then the leaves and flowers in the same bud. Our Butterfly House isn't very big, they are planning major extensions over the next few years.

The aquarium isn't very big either, and it almost impossible to get good pictures in the dark and behind the glass, it might be better with a different camera, but I have to get by with the one I have. But I did enjoy looking and they have a new jelly fish tank that the pictures didn't come out very good because the water was very cloudy due to cleaning. I even got an idea of a quilting pattern that I sketched out on the back of an envelope that I will work on later in my sketch pad. When I get the fish quilt designed and worked on. I have an idea on that one too.

Off to a good start on the next 16 blocks of Log Cabin Heart. It doesn't take long to make sixteen blocks, and I probably will finish them tomorrow, unless I go to the Butterfly House. We haven't been for a couple of weeks and it's time again.

Another top finished, this one is called Tumblers and it is a one-patch, that is there is only one shape in the whole thing repeated over and over. They are shaped like drinking glasses, hence Tumblers. It will get basted the next time I baste and won't take long to finish, it is a table runner. It has a lot of my favorite fabrics in it that were getting down to just scraps. I have quite a few of the cut pieces remaining and I am going to make a wall hanging for over my bed with them, or maybe 2 there are a lot still in the tub. Evidently when I start cutting I don't know when to stop and I cut a lot more than I would have needed.

I didn't quite get to halfway on Polka Dots as I was planning, but that's ok it's still early in the week and it's not as if I have a deadline, I just want to get it done.

I'm on the last big triangle block down here and the Pinwheel pile is going down pretty fast now. Tomorrow I will iron the big blocks and set them aside until I get the rest of the Pinwheels off the sewing machine, they would be in the way of the tops as I work on them.

This week may seem to be an extension of last week, and the week before that. Life doesn't change a whole lot, but it's all good: I like being busy with what I do and I enjoy it very much. And it's coffee and hand work time, simple pleasures.

Next installment of blocks for Long Cabin Heart. I have been getting sidetracked long enough and intend to finish this in the next couple of weeks. These are made with all light colored strips. They are used for fill-in blocks to keep the continuity of the borders.

This is just to show a couple of places where the blocks will go. I want to get the top finished in the next couple of weeks. I am about half done with the current quilt I am quilting and there is only one more basted, so I am hoping to get the top done by the time I am ready to baste again. We will see.

Other than that I am still plugging away at Pinwheels. A couple more days should see the large half-square triangle blocks, after that it will be straight Pinwheels until they are all done. Then the fun comes as I start putting the tops together.

Today the water company came and changed the meter on the water line. It was behind the machine where I work on the Drunkard's Path so we had to move everything. On the plus side of that is I had to clean up the clutter and now I can work on the Drunkard's Path again. Less cleaning time in the future too. Nothing like having to work in a hurry! In any case it's nice to be a little more organized.

So it looks like a busy week ahead of me. I'm going to bring some more things down from the attic. What I had planned to do today got postponed until tomorrow because of the water meter, but being behind one day is no big deal. Its really normal for me. It's nice to be normal.

And....it's crib sheets. Back in the day when I did this for a living it wasn't uncommon for me to sit down and sew about 40 crib sheets in a morning. I only made $2.00 per sheet, so I had to be fast to make any money at it. I am glad I don't have to do it any more.

They were stored in a tub with this comforter, cut out but not finished. I finished them so now I will have a quick baby gift if  I need one. I also found a red comforter cut out and partially sewn along with 4 more sheets red sheets cut but not sewn. I will sew them one of these days and then I will have little boy gifts too. I have several things in line though, so it won't be for a couple of weeks. Things may as well be stored finished as stored in pieces. It's nice to keep my hand in.

I am nearly finished with the big blocks made from left over half-square triangles, when those are done the rest of the Pinwheels will just fly under the needle of the treadle and then I can put blocks together. Can't wait, it will be so much fun. Actually it's fun right now, but I am starting to get a little tired of the big blocks. Only about 3 or 4 more.

Polka Dots is one quarter of the way quilted. I have had a good couple of days to work, less pain than usual, and how good that is. It must be because the weather is warming up. Like Spring, I am coming alive again. If I were to have another daughter I would name her Spring. Since that is never going to happen I am safe in saying that.

I hear the thunder of little feet, time to go up and see if I can get a hug!

The weather turned cold and rainy this week. Typical spring weather so I am not complaining, spring is pretty good and we need the rain to get ready for summer. I won't be winding warp this week anyway.

I started quilting this yesterday. Not my favorite colors, but it really pops. It's another, yes, another, Drunkard's Path variation, my third. I am fascinated with the many different layouts and settings one can have with just the one basic unit. I have one more in the piecing stage, one more in the pinning stage and 2 more in the planning stage, and it's only the beginning of what can be done.

I started the dreadful c word-cleaning out in the little sitting room. It always looks worse before it looks better, and because I let it go there is a lot of clutter again. When am I going to learn just to put things away? I don't suppose I ever will. I'm 62 and I always thought when I didn't have kids making a mess housekeeping would be easy. Such a disillusionment. (And if that isn't a hard word to spell right!) I should have known better. Husbands are just as clutterful as children. I am almost as bad as children. But in my defense, I get inspired and forget about everything but what I am working on until I have to come up for air. I wish cleaning was as inspiring as sewing. I guess ya can't have everything!

Finished. It was hard to get a good picture to show the quilting. It took 3 mornings, it was fast and fun. Almost too fast, it felt like it was finished before I really got into it. I bound it in eyelet lace, it is for a little girl after all.

So tomorrow back to the UFOs, but I see more of these in the future; they are so much fun.

This is the way I am finishing some of the Pinwheels. I need 225 of these little 5 inch blocks for one quilt. They go really fast, I don't anticipate them taking very long.

This is how they will be set together, I think, although I might decide different when I get a few more done.

David is not feeling good, and he is down here sleeping, so I will be going out to the other room to sew on the treadle while he is asleep and settle down to do hand work after that. He will probably get up when it is time to walk down to the school to meet Sammy, it's such a lovely day I might walk down with him. It would be good to get a little walk in when the sun is so bright.

With my ninth finished quilt under my belt I decided to take some time off from UFOs and start a new project, I need a baby shower gift, and I wanted to practice some quilting. I had an idea for a big design I wanted to try so I did. I doodled it out on paper several times before I started in thread and I am pleased with the way it is coming.

I had intended this to just be a practice piece, but it is turning out so well that I will bind it and use it for the gift I need. I should be able to finish it tomorrow and then I will go back to one of the UFOs I have basted and that I want to get done this year.

Spider Web, this is a small quilt, the back is pieced, but it doesn't show because small pieces of the same fabric. I had a dress cut out but I wasn't liking the way it was going together so I decided to use the big skirt pieces for the back of a quilt. I probably could have used this one for the shower gift, but I needed a change of pace. This quilt is about the size one would make for a youth bed.

I have already spent some time on Ernestine and the Pinwheels are coming along well, now it's time for hand sewing. I think the Grandmother's Flower Garden will be finished quite soon it's coming along fast and I think a couple more rows of blocks should do it; about 26 blocks. I haven't decided if I will machine quilt it or hand quilt it, there's plenty of time to decide that. For now there is great pleasure in a cup of coffee and my hand work.

 Another finish, but just barely. Happy did not want me to work on her quilt, I finally had to move her so I could trim the edges and bind it.

This is called Spider Web and it is a youth bed size. I had 20 blocks left over from another quilt, I miscounted, not hard for me to do, so I put them together. It's only about 3 years old so it's not too old, and it is the 9th finished quilt of the year, the year when all my UFOs get finished.

I did an all over pattern that I call bubbles, in orange. The quilting isn't going to show up much in such a busy pattern so I kept it simple. The next one I am going to try something fancy on. I have something in mind and I will see how it pans out. I probably won't have a picture of the whole thing until Monday. We won't be home much tomorrow.

The family is working out back today getting Ambrosina's garden started. This is the first year she has had it here, it's usually over at her mother-in-law's, but she is running out of space over there. They are building raised beds on the hillside, the only way she can do it since the hill is so steep. It's a lot of work, but it will be worth it. When it's done I will take some pictures. I would like to help her in the garden, but last time I tried I fell twice and she looks at me sternly when I mention it and David shakes his head. Gardening isn't my favorite anyway, but I enjoy looking at what the others do.

I am done with my lunch break, now it's time to get back at something probably Pinwheels, there are plenty of them to get done, but the pile is going down slowly, as usual I am in no hurry.

Yesterday was my monthly class for BPD, so not much sewing happened, I was really tired by the time I got home. After class I went to Goodwill because I needed a flower pot, I also found a nice gallon jar to replace the button jar that I broke, and four coffee cups to keep down here for when I want to make a single cup of coffee. Not a bad haul for under ten dollars.

This is about the only houseplant I have room for and she needed a new pot. The old one was so small that it kept tipping over. It was totally rootbound and wouldn't absorb water. When I was repotting it I realized how much I have missed working with my houseplants and I have been wondering if I could find a place for another one, although if I bring something in the front door I have to take something out the back. Now if only I can keep the cat from biting on it. Ambrosina says he does it to floss his teeth on the spines.

I got started on the next quilting project this morning. I don't think I can keep up the pace much longer though, I have to start winding warp as soon as it's warm enough out under the back porch to set up the warping wheel and it is supposed to get up nearly to eighty this weekend. How lovely that is! I also have the winter's clutter to clean out from that part of the basement as soon as it is warm enough. I will be so glad when the kids can afford to finish the rest of the basement for us. They are talking about putting radiant heat in the floor. How great would that be? A bathroom and a little kitchen for us, that is the stuff dreams are made of, especially the bathroom. Anthony is to have a room down here too, although I am not sure how everything is going to fit in. It's one of those wait and see things.

But that will have to wait. They are going to put electricity in the garage this year and insulate the house and what a mess that will be. My sewing corner upstairs has to be packed away for a while but it will give me a chance to reorganize and get rid of stuff that has been stuck into where ever I could find space for it. I will also list all my UFOs and work towards finishing them when things are back together.

But for now on to finishing more Pinwheels.

My 8th finished quilt of the year.

 My backing fabric wasn't big enough so I backed it with some of the ubiquitous pink. I wanted it to be light enough in color so that it wouldn't show through to the front and that worked.

This is a very old UFO, and not one of mine. I am still counting it as a finish because I quilted it and it took a lot of quilting. It is made of feed sacks, there is even a stamp "10 lbs." that didn't get washed out. The top was give to Ambrosina by Rose her mother-in-law. It was given to Rose by a friend. The friend's mother-in-law went into a nursing home and that was in her things when the estate was broken up. Ambrosina doesn't quilt yet so she asked me to quilt it for her. I am glad it is done. It is too pretty to be sitting around in a tub up in the attic unfinished.

I got a lot of practice in outline and echo quilting doing it and saw a big improvement  in my skills by the time I was done. There wasn't enough sun on the quilt so it doesn't show the quilting very well, but there is a lot of it. I wanted to be sure that it was well stabilized.

So tomorrow I start quilting on the next basted one. I have three basted quilts that are waiting to be quilted. I won't run out of work anytime soon. For now though a nap. We have a late evening planned and I am still fighting a cold. After my nap it will be time for some piecing out on Ernestine. I am getting a lot of finished Pinwheels stacked up, I still have a lot to go though and steady gets the job done.

I had to cut some more background pieces for my little turtles.

These are actually one of the many Drunkard's Path variations. I decided what size that I wanted to make them and then had David make me a wood template that will never wear out.

These are they seen with my assistant. I trace around the template sharp colored pencil and then use my rotary cutter and free hand cut just barely inside the line.

I have cut thousands, and I am sure I will probably cut thousands more. It doesn't take very long and I only cut a small amount at a time because they all have to be pinned before sewn and I don't do a lot of pinning at one time either. It takes about 800 units for the size quilt I have been making, but the turtle quilts won't take as many since I plan on making them only twin size.

It was a tough weekend. Ambrosina came down with my cold too and she's not feeling very good. She gets headaches and then gets crabby with the headache, I don't blame her a bit, I used to get very bad migraines myself and I am sure I was no picnic to live with. I would probably still get them if it weren't for all the medication I am on. I am headachy with this cold too, but not as bad as she. With small children she can't get the rest she needs either; how well I remember those days, being so sick I needed to go to bed but being so busy with the children I couldn't. I wouldn't have traded them for anything.

I am nearly finished with the tulip quilt, I probably could have finished it this morning if I hadn't spent time cutting. Then the bobbin went empty with only a few sashing strips left to quilt, but I said forget it because it was my last bobbin. Tomorrow I will be able to finish quilting and bind it in one sitting; that will be soon enough. For now, though, I am going to go out and sew some more Pinwheels on Ernestine.

Well my fears were realized and this morning I woke up with a full blown cold, so this morning I am just vegetating out with my hexagons in front of Netflix. I will probably rouse myself to do some piecing on Ernestine but I have a headache too, so not a lot.

It's getting to be pretty good sized, I keep looking at it wondering if it is big enough, because I have to quilt it and I would like to quilt it by hand. I tried to make it look as if the flowers are swirling, and I think I managed it on most of the blocks. It's no hardship to make it big, I love the work.

No matter which machine I am at my able bodied assistant is there to help me in any way she can. I finally made her get down, I was afraid I'd sew a paw or a tail.

I started putting stuff away out there where the machines are down here. It's not dirty, just cluttered, I don't always tidy away from other projects when I am in the middle of something, I am about 3 quilts behind putting leftovers and scraps away. I need to sort out some other scraps for the Pinwheel blocks and I will never find what I need if I don't get some of the other stuff put away. It's unfortunate that there are so many other interesting things to do rather than tidy up. Sometimes I find something nice that I had forgotten I had but I doubt if I will this time.

David and Leon are doing repairs in the bathroom this afternoon, they needed to be done, but what a mess, also waiting time for the bathroom is long and there is usually a line of dancing boys waiting their turn. Oh the things I see when I don't have a camera!

I have been spending every possible moment at the treadle. I wanted to get all the Pinwheels under the needle for the first seam and I made it.

That is a big pile of Pinwheels. All of the half-square triangles I had put together and cut have been used.

Except these. These are leftovers that I didn't have 4 of a kind to turn into Pinwheels and I am making them into these blocks.

It won't take long and I will alternate between them and finishing the 2nd seams on the Pinwheels. When they are done I will put them away while I finish the Pinwheels. After that the fun begins when I start exploring the many way that Pinwheels can be put together into quilts. I shouldn't say the fun begins because it has been a lot of fun putting the Pinwheels together so far. I have several ideas for blocks too that will keep me busy.

I finished my outfit too, it's all ready for the final pressing before I wear it on Tuesday. I'm thinking I will have someone take a picture of me in it although I hate having my picture taking, but a couple of people have been asking for pictures.

I feel pleased with what I have gotten done this week, which is just as well since I am coming down with a cold. I don't know who has shared it with me, or if I just picked it up on my own, I hope no one else gets it from me. Oh well, things can't be perfect and I shouldn't complain.

With two major projects either finished or at a good place I am going to focus on getting the current quilt I am quilting done this week and then a whole lot of small projects that have been sitting around for a while needing to get done. I have also been pinning my turtle blocks and I will resume working on Drunkard's Path blocks that I have been let sitting while I focused on Pinwheels. It wouldn't hurt to get some things put away either since I always let things go when focus to exclusion on one thing. There is always plenty to do, the biggest problem is figuring out which thing to do first!

Skirt and blouse are done; also a small start on the jacket, progress has been pretty easy on them, and I am enjoying the garment construction. I haven't done any for a while. I wish I could make shoes too.

I've got a pretty good pile of the larger Pinwheels done, I usually spin the center seams while I am watching TV with David, I can't stand sitting with my hands not busy. Spinning the seams isn't all that exciting and the TV is enough of a distraction I don't get too bored with it.

 There are quilts that I didn't bother spinning the center seam of the block and I've been sorry. The quilting was difficult when I hit those center seams and I have broken needles. You take the stitches out on the vertical seam between the horizontal seam and the raw edge. Since I chain piece I have to cut the connecting threads first.

 It's a little hard to see, my camera isn't of the best, but usually I am happy with it.

Then you pick back the threads to the crossing seam on both sides of the block. I have a little stilletto  that I use, but a seam ripper works.

 I spread it out on a flat surface and fold the press the seams going around the block. I finger press while I am doing this and do a final press later.

It was hard to get a good picture of this, but the center of the wrong side will look like a miniature block in the middle.

Elinor Burns covers this in almost all of her videos on YouTube. I didn't learn it from her, I don't even remember when I learned but it was back in the eons of time, long before YouTube and internet.

The block looks pretty good on the right side and it is ready to be put away until I get them all done and taken to the ironing board. It takes a little time, but well worth it for the sake of finished project.

All of the sets of 4 Pinwheel blocks got finished this afternoon.

All I have left to put under the needle for the first run-through is this basket of single blocks, then when those are done, as I put the rest of the blocks through for the second time, I will work on finishing the odds and ends of blocks. Also I have the star blocks I can start putting through, something to look forward to. I am thinking I will have to do a royal clean up in the sitting room, I tend to focus on a job and let everything else go. Something else to look forward to. There is always something. So I don't really know how long it will take to finish them. This step is a little slower since there are four seams to match in the blocks that are being completed now. It's a good thing I enjoy it!

It's been a fairly productive day. My skirt and blouse are to the point where they need a fitting, basically just the hems. Tomorrow I will finish them, I hope, and start the jacket.

 I know the pile doesn't look any smaller, and in fact, I don't think it is, but I am cutting some finished ones off the chain, this next step will take a little longer. Each block has 4 seams to match instead of just the one that the big Pinwheels have. However,

 These are the last of the blocks that have sets of 4 Pinwheels in them. This tower of tubs holds the equivalent of two quilts. I cut them out a long time ago and when I get all these Pinwheels put together I will make a start on them. Probably not for a couple of months.

These are the finished large Pinwheels that I am cutting off the chain as I put the sets of 4 under the needle for the second time. All that remains for these is to spin the center seams and be put away until the rest of them are done. After I get the sets of four done then I will have just a small basket of single small Pinwheels to do. I hope that I will only be on block construction for a few more days before I can start putting the tops together, but we will see.

The weather has been lovely and warm, I am hoping it will encourage David to get out and get more exercise, he is putting on so much weight that it worries me.

So, it's time to hunt out where I left my coffee cup and sit down and spin the seams on my Pinwheels, such an activity requires coffee, it's not my favorite part of quilting, but it has to be done.

A few days ago I posted an enormous pile of Pinwheel blocks that I had sewn the first seam on. I started them through the second time and decided to alternate the big blocks with the small sets of four blocks. I really want to get them done. So this is what I ended up with.

 But I have gotten all the way through the big ones again and they are done. I even got Grace uncovered, mostly that is.

Now when I cut a block off it will be done. I have about 60 of the small blocks left to go and some odds and ends left, but I am getting close to being able to put the tops together. I don't know how many there will be but at least six different ones. Then I think I will do something else for a while. I am getting kind of tired of working with just solids and look forward to using some prints. I'm not even in the planning stage, and it will soon be time to start planning my weaving project for the summer.

Ambrosina and David spent some time this last weekend getting some yard work done. She is going to put some raised beds in the back behind the house for her vegetable garden. It's a lot of work, the kind they enjoy doing, though, I think they enjoyed it a lot. The boys enjoyed it too and came in flushed and happy. They are busy planning their end of school year party and it should be a blast. Water balloons and side walk chalk and smores being involved. I will be sure to get plenty of pictures.

It's time for some relaxing and hand sewing, with a nice hot cup of coffee.